Immunofluorescence

a8803349 at unet.univie.ac.at (Martin Offterdinger) wrote:
>I learned that many people use fluorescein, but this fluorochrome
>seems to be very sensitive to bleaching-so why is it still the most
>commonly used?
Because the amount of emitted light for a given amount of absorbed light,
the fluorescent yield, is very high in fluorescein. Additionally, the
wavelength of the yellow-green fluorescence of fluorescein is close to
the peek sensitivity of the human eye. Both factors result in brighter
pictures. Fluorescein is also relatively cheap.
The problem of bleaching can be controlled to some extend by the use of
anti-fade mouning media.